Troubleshooting charging issues

[op t must]

Well, yours truly left the LG charger/data cable with the LG travel/wall charger in a safe place. Three and a half hours away. I'll be getting it back within a few months.

In the meantime, my trusty (up until now) generic car charger with proper micro usb wired connector, in sub-freezing weather, this past week, does not seem to charging the 2 year old phone battery properly. The phone's stock "meter" fills all three battery sections, but on checking the % charge, it is reading only 30%. This follows numerous instances where the phone initially reads one level of charge, then reads a level 20 or more points lower in as few as seconds later.

What does your experience or knowledge point to for an explanation? The phone's charging pin does not seem to be bent, but I have dropped the phone in its silicone/hard plastic Otterbox Commuter case on tile and a carpeted floor a few times. But the biggest variable seems to be the extra cold and the car charger.

My thinking now is to get a quality data/ charging cable as a work-around and charge through my pc's USB, ac powered hub. Could it be the battery? What do you think?

Update-

picked up charger at Walmart for $7.74. Working fine.

 

[bjzapp]

I'm sure a better quality/newer charging cable would be fine....I would suggest calling VM and see if they can get you one--maybe even for free.
I did that last year when the phone-end of the cable got screwed.
Nonethless, in this weather......you need to bring that kind of stuff inside with you and not left out in those conditions

 

[srkmagnus]

I agree. Try and get another from a reputable brand and retailer. The device probably pulls more power than the charger can supply and is causing issues with charging.